Tyson leads Alcoa win

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Blount County has another high school football state championship.

Neither Alcoa nor Maryville High School won a state title least season, marking the first time that has happened since 2003.

Alcoa corrected that blip in the pattern Friday night by dominating the clock at Tennessee Tech University’s Tucker Stadium.

The Tornadoes earned the 13th state championship in program history with a 25-7 win over previously unbeaten Christ Presbyterian Academy in the Class 3A BlueCross Bowl.

Junior running back Jaquez Tyson rushed a championship- record 49 times for 278 yards and three touchdowns for Alcoa ( 14-1), earning the game’s offensive MVP award and helping give the Tornadoes their first title since 2010.

“I loved it. I loved every second of it. When [ the coaches] called a play, and I knew it was coming to me,” Tyson said, “the only thing on my mind was, ‘Let’s go.’”

Alcoa’s four scoring drives spanned 94, 17, 97 and 99 yards, and it owned the time-of-possession battle by a 17-minute, 14-second margin.

“It was certainly a great effort from our up- front people. And 49 carries is almost child abuse,” quipped Alcoa coach Gary Rankin.

“I had no idea he carried that many times, but [quarterback Peyton] Wall was running well the first half. He might have broken his hand. Malik Love got cold at halftime. We couldn’t warm him back up. So that upped [Tyson’s] carries a little bit.”

Two pregame lightning delays pushed kickoff back more than an hour.

Alcoa wasted no time controlling the tempo against CPA ( 14-1) in the first half with 12- and 17-play scoring drives that lasted 4:45 and sevem minutes, respectively.

The Tornadoes finished with 16:19 of possession time in the first half to CPA’s 7:41 and led 19-7.

Wall polished off the first scoring drive, which started at the Alcoa 6, with a 28-yard touchdown run, putting Alcoa ahead 7- 0 with 5: 45 left in the first quarter. He finished with 93 yards on 11 carries.